NEWS

  National Marine Turtle Action Plan launched. Considering the need to have a conservation paradigm for marine mega fauna and marine turtles, the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has released ‘Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ and ‘National Marine Turtle Action Plan’ in New Delhi today. Speaking at the virtual launch event the Union Environment Minister said that both floral and faunal diversity including the marine biodiversity is the beauty of India and we need to conserve it with best possible action and interventions.       India has rich marine biodiversity along a vast coastline of over 7,500 km. From colorful fish, sharks, including Whale Sharks, turtles and big mammals like whales, dolphins and dugongs to bright corals, marine habitats not only harbor diverse species but also provide resources essential for human wellbeing. Millions of people depend on these resources ranging from maritime trade and transport, food, minera...

  Agreement for financial support to STARS project signed between DEA and World Bank Agreement for the financial support of the implementation of Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project of Ministry of Education was signed between Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) and World Bank along with Ministry of Education. The total project cost of STARS project is Rs 5718 crore with the financial support of World Bank amounting to US $ 500 million (approximately Rs. 3700 crore) and rest coming as State share from the participating States, over a period of 5 years. STARS project would be implemented as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), MOE. Earlier Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of STARS project on 14 th  Oct 2020. The project covers 6 States viz Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha. The identified States will be supported for various interventions fo...

  Sustainable Development Core to India’s Development Strategy; Substantive Economic Stimulus and Wide Ranging Economic Reform to Drive the same: Economic Survey The  2030 agenda for Sustainable Development  with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encompasses a comprehensive developmental agenda for India by integrating the social, economic and environmental dimensions. The Economic Survey for FY 2020-21, presented in Parliament today by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, lays emphasis on this approach and asks for achieving  equity  not just  across nations and within the nations  but also  across and within the generations , thereby countering the iniquitous impact of COVID-19 pandemic  too . India and the SDGs The Survey states that India has taken several proactive steps to mainstream the SDGs into the policies, schemes and programmes of the Government. It mentions the following in this regard:...

  India’s Sovereign Credit Ratings do not capture its Fundamentals: Economic Survey The Economic Survey has called for sovereign credit ratings methodology to be made more transparent, less subjective and better attuned to reflect an economy’s fundamentals. The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2020-21 in Parliament today. The Survey notes that never in the history of sovereign credit ratings, has the fifth largest economy in the world been rated at the lowest rung of the investment grade (BBB-/Baa3) except in the case of China and India. Reflecting on the economic size and thereby ability to repay debt, at all other times, the fifth largest economy has been predominantly rated AAA. Further, it points out that India’s sovereign credit ratings do not reflect its fundamentals. Within its sovereign credit ratings cohort, India is a clear outlier on several parameters, i.e. it is rated significantly lower than mandate...

  Access to “The Bare Necessities” Such as Housing, Water, Sanitation, Electricity and Clean Cooking Fuel are a Sine Qua Non to live a Decent Life: Economic Survey Economic Survey 2020-21 underlined the importance of access to bare necessities of housing, water, sanitation, electricity and clean cooking fuel which are consumed by all the members of the household and which touch the life of every member. The Union minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2020-21 in Parliament today. Economic Survey 2020-21 constructs a Bare Necessities Index (BNI) at the rural, urban and all India level. The BNI summarises 26 indicators on five dimensions viz., water, sanitation, housing, micro-environment, and other facilities. The BNI has been created for all States for 2012 and 2018 using data from two NSO rounds viz., 69th and 76th on Drinking Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Housing Condition in India.   Economic Survey says that the “b...

  IN FAC T-81 decommissioned Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft (IN FAC) T-81 of the Super Dvora MK II class, was decommissioned on 28 Jan 21 at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai after having served the nation successfully for more than 20 years. Rear Admiral V Srinivas, Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area was the Chief Guest on the occasion. The 25 meters long vessel with 60 tonnes displacement was built at Goa Shipyard Ltd. In collaboration with M/s Ramta of Israel. She was commissioned into the Navy on 05 Jun 1999 by the then Governor of Goa, Lt Gen JFR Jacob (Retd). The ship, specially designed for shallow waters, could achieve speeds up to 45 knots and had the capability of day/night surveillance and reconnaissance, Search & Rescue, beach insertion, extraction of Marine Commandoes and high speed interception of intruder craft.

  Years 2019 & 2020 are Landmark Years in History of Labour Reforms; 29 Central Labour Laws Amalgamated, Rationalized and Simplified into Four Labour Codes The Economic Survey 2020-21 states that the years 2019 and 2020 are landmark years in the history of labour reforms, when the country saw the nearly 29 Central Labour laws being amalgamated, rationalized and simplified into four labour codes viz.: (i) the Code on Wages, 2019, (ii) the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, (iii) the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and (iv) the Code on Social Security, 2020. The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2020-21 in Parliament today. This has brought these laws in tune with the changing labour market trends and at the same time accommodated the minimum wage requirement and welfare needs of the unorganized sector workers, including the self-employed and migrant workers, within the framework of ...

  Meeting held by Department of Food &Public Distribution with States and Industry Associations to implement Scheme to enhance ethanol distillation capacity in the country for producing 1st Generation (1G) ethanol The Government has fixed a target of 10% blending of fuel grade ethanol with petrol by 2022 and 20% blending by 2025. This has been done with a view to boost agricultural economy, to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuel, to save foreign exchange on account of crude oil import bill and to reduce the air pollution. To meet out the requirement of ethanol, the Government has notified a “Scheme for extending financial assistance to project proponents for enhancement of their ethanol distillation capacity or to set up distilleries for producing 1st Generation (1G) ethanol from feed stocks such sugarcane, rice available with Food Corporation of India, maize etc. vide notification dated 14 th  January, 2021. With a view to ensure maximum participation by the entrepr...

  Indian Railways have so far operated Kisan Rail services on eighteen routes. As per the announcement made in the Union Budget 2020-21, Indian Railways has started running Kisan Rail train services, to transport perishables and agri-product, including milk, meat and fish.  This is multi-commodity, multi-consignor/consignee, multi-loading/unloading transportation product which is aimed at providing wider market to Kisan.  The primary objective of running Kisan Rail trains is to increase the income in farm sector by connecting production centers to markets and consumption centers.             Railways have been actively pursuing with various stake holders – including Ministry of Agriculture, state governments, and local bodies – to plan roll out of Kisan Rail services. Based on demand pattern and feedback received from stakeholders, Railways have so far operated Kisan Rail services on eighteen routes. The first Kisan R...

  Summary of Economic Survey-2020-21 India’s real GDP to record a growth of 11 per cent in 2021-22 and nominal GDP by 15.4 per cent-the highest since independence. The V-shaped economic recovery is supported by the initiation of a mega vaccination drive with hopes of a robust recovery in the services sector and prospects for robust growth in consumption and investment. The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2020-21 in Parliament today, which states that the rebound will be led by the low base and continued normalization in economic activities as the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines gathers traction. The fundamentals of the economy remain strong as gradual scaling back of lockdowns along with the astute support of Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission have placed the economy firmly on the path of revival. This path would entail a growth in real GDP by 2.4 percent over the absolute level of 2019-20-implying that the economy would...

  Indian Agriculture contributes to green shoots of the Indian Economy with a Growth Rate of 3.4 Per Cent Despite COVID-19 Pandemic India’s agricultural sector has shown its resilience amid the adversities of COVID-19 induced lockdowns. The Agriculture and Allied activities clocked a growth of 3.4 per cent at constant prices during 2020-21(first advance estimate) says the Economic Survey.The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2020-21 in Parliament today. The Economic Survey observes that as per the Provisional Estimates of National Income released by CSO on 29 th  May, 2020, the share of Agriculture and Allied Sectors in Gross Value Added (GVA) of the country at current prices is 17.8 per cent for the year 2019-20.     Record Foodgrain Production According to the Economic Survey in the Agriculture year 2019-20 (as per Fourth Advance Estimates), total food grain production in the country is estimate...